Biotech Alert: Searches spiking for these stocks today

These names in the biotech sector are seeing a substantial increase in search activity today, as determined by InvestingChannel. They include: 

• Frequency Therapeutics (FREQ), 3,007% surge in interest
• Bright Minds (DRUG), 1,308% surge in interest
• Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD), 372% surge in interest
• Redhill Biopharma (RDHL), 146% surge in interest
• Arcturus Therapeutics (ARCT), 107% surge in interest

Pipeline and key clinical candidates for these companies:

Frequency Therapeutics says it is “pioneering a new category in regenerative medicine that aims to restore human function by developing therapeutics that activate a person’s innate regenerative potential within the body through the activation of progenitor cells.” The company’s lead preclinical program is designed to activate oligodendrocyte precursor cells with the goal of driving remyelination and potential functional recovery for individuals living with multiple sclerosis.

Bright Minds, which says it is focused on developing “novel transformative treatments” for neuropsychiatric disorders, epilepsy, and pain, has a portfolio of next-generation serotonin agonists designed to target neurocircuit abnormalities that are responsible for difficult to treat disorders such as resistant epilepsy, treatment resistant depression, PTSD, and pain.

Acadia says it is advancing “breakthroughs in neuroscience to elevate life.” The company developed and commercialized what it identifies as “the first and only approved therapies” for hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis and for the treatment of Rett syndrome. Acadia’s clinical-stage development efforts are focused on treating the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and neuropsychiatric symptoms in central nervous system disorders.

RedHill Biopharma is primarily focused on gastrointestinal and infectious diseases. RedHill promotes the gastrointestinal drugs, Movantik for opioid-induced constipation in adults, Talicia for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection in adults, and Aemcolo for the treatment of travelers’ diarrhea in adults. RedHill’s key clinical late-stage development programs include: RHB-204, with an ongoing Phase 3 study for pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacteria disease; opaganib, or ABC294640, a first-in-class oral SK2 selective inhibitor targeting multiple indications with a Phase 2/3 program for hospitalized COVID-19 and Phase 2 studies for prostate cancer and cholangiocarcinoma ongoing; RHB-107, or upamostat, an oral serine protease inhibitor in a Phase 3-stage study as treatment for non-hospitalized symptomatic COVID-19, and targeting multiple other cancer and inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases; RHB-104, with positive results from a first Phase 3 study for Crohn’s disease; and RHB-102 , with positive results from a Phase 3 study for acute gastroenteritis and gastritis and positive results from a Phase 2 study for IBS-D.

Arcturus Therapeutics is a late-stage clinical mRNA medicines and vaccines company whose pipeline of RNA therapeutic and vaccine candidates includes mRNA vaccine programs for COVID-19 and Influenza, and other programs to potentially treat ornithine transcarbamylase, or OTC, deficiency, and cystic fibrosis, or CF. The company’s partnered programs include glycogen storage disease type III and hepatitis B virus.

Recent news on these stocks:

July 14

Korro Bio and Frequency Therapeutics announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to combine the companies in an all-stock transaction. The combined company will focus on the advancement of Korro Bio’s portfolio of RNA editing programs, is expected to operate under Korro Bio, Inc. and will apply to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “KRRO”. Korro Bio has secured commitments from a syndicate of leading life sciences investors for a planned concurrent $117M financing, co-led by Surveyor Capital and Cormorant Asset Management and participation from Atlas Venture, NEA, Platanus, Qiming Venture Partners USA, MP Healthcare Venture Management, Eventide Asset Management, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Invus, Point72, Verition Fund Management, Monashee Investment Management, Sixty Degree Capital and additional investors. The financing is expected to close immediately prior to the completion of the merger. The combined company is expected to have approximately $170M in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at close after estimated transaction expenses. The pro-forma cash balance is expected to provide cash runway through several value-creating milestones and into 2026. The merger and related financing are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023, subject to approval by Frequency Therapeutics’ stockholders and other customary closing conditions.

Shares of Arcturus Therapeutics are moving higher after the disclosed that an article titled “Booster dose of self-amplifying SARS-CoV-2 RNA vaccine vs. mRNA vaccine: a phase 3 comparison of ARCT-154 with Comirnaty” was posted on medRxiv.org. The article is based on interim results of a Phase 3 study conducted in Japan by Meiji Seika Pharma evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of ARCT-154 compared to Comirnaty as a booster against COVID-19. The article is a preprint and has not yet been certified by peer review. As previously announced, Meiji entered into a distribution agreement with Seqirus for the distribution and sales of ARCT-154, Arcturus Therapeutics’ self-amplifying mRNA vaccine candidate against COVID-19, in Japan. Shares of Arcturus are up 13% to $34.76.

July 13

Acadia Pharmaceuticals announced that it has expanded its current licensing agreement for trofinetide with Neuren Pharmaceuticals to acquire ex-North American rights to the drug as well as global rights in Rett syndrome and Fragile X syndrome to Neuren’s development candidate NNZ-2591. In April of this year, Acadia launched trofinetide in the United States under the brand name DAYBUE as the first and only drug approved for the treatment of Rett syndrome. “This expanded worldwide agreement solidifies Acadia’s position as the global leader in addressing the unmet needs of people with Rett syndrome,” said Steve Davis, Acadia’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We have successfully delivered DAYBUE, the first FDA-approved therapy that treats the core symptoms of Rett syndrome, and are deeply committed to broadening access to this important therapy for patients worldwide.” In addition to expanding access to trofinetide outside of North America, this agreement gives Acadia exclusive worldwide rights to NNZ-2591 in both Rett syndrome and Fragile X syndrome. NNZ-2591 is an investigational synthetic analogue of cyclo-glycyl-proline (cGP) which results from the breakdown of human insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). NNZ-2591 is currently under development by Neuren in four other rare neurodevelopmental syndromes.

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About “Biotech Alert”

The Fly will report on a selection of biotech stocks seeing a surge in interest from retail and financial professional investors, based on data from InvestingChannel.

This Fly exclusive recap reveals the biotech stocks that are seeing a spike in searches among the 20-plus million retail and financial professional investors through InvestingChannel’s online financial news media ecosystem.

This increased attention from the investors may be in response to, or advance of, outsized moves for stocks in the biotech sector, which tend to be volatile and prone to sharp swings in share price around binary events such as clinical study results and FDA approvals.